Every good rugby halfback has a ton of fight in him.
In Wanganui halfback Matthew Koubaridis' case, he's taken it a step further by having a crack at the sport of boxing.
Some might also joke that this is a handy skill to take into today's Heartland Championship rugby match with East Coast at Ruatoria, but Coast co-coach Ngarimu Simpkins says a repeat of last year's stormy Heartland final is not on the cards because his team has worked on its discipline.
Both teams have had their share of yellow cards this year, but almost all for relatively mundane offences like persistent offending.
"We've worked hard in the off-season and I'm happy with the discipline. It did get a bit fiery last year, but I think you'll see a much more polished team this year," said Simpkins, who will play hooker.
So sit back, enjoy the Ruatoria sunshine and let a very confident Ngati Porou East Coast have its crack at revenge for last season's 30-10 final loss.
Simpkins says his team "is travelling quite nicely. Wanganui are the champions but we're counting on home advantage. The game for me is all about getting the win - it's a real challenge."
While Simpkins says East Coast will pay Wanganui all due respect, there's a hint of real confidence in his tone.
"There's an expectation up here that we can win the title - there's a real belief in the team," he said.
Simpkins says the aim is to combat the Wanganui forwards, and the fact that Irishman John Semple has been moved into first-five and Rua Tipoki out one suggests that there will be a kicking game and an emphasis on stopping Wanganui's big boys in midfield.
But a little "boy" is all ready to go, as well.
Koubaridis appears to have gained the No 1 halfback role ahead of Sean Brown, replacing the long-term mainstay Denning Tyrell.
And despite his lack of rugby lately, Koubaridis is fighting fit.
He popped an AC shoulder joint in his first club match for Border against Kaierau and missed the rest of the club season - but hard rehab and strong boxing training has him around 7kg lighter than last year's rugby weight - and clearly sharper for it.
"I popped it, mucked around for awhile and, about three months down the track, they were going to operate," said Koubaridis.
He thought he might not be playing anymore rugby this season.
"But then it came right by itself."
He had a couple of recent runs, then returned to the Wanganui fold when Tyrell withdrew.
"Those matches helped get the fitness up, but I had been doing a lot of boxing work."
And fighting. His third bout and most recent, at the Waikato championship, was a win by knock-out, following two previous victories.
His aim is to get down to 75kg to fight as a middleweight.
"So I needed to kill a lot of weight. I sit around 80kg now, down from 86kg-87kg last year."
Less weight, less running power?
"The contact's a little bit different - I have to stop picking out the locks now ..."
Koubaridis admits East Coast will be tough at home, but he's quietly confident.
"We believe in our systems and we have the team to do it. There's a belief there - last Saturday I always believed we were going to get out of it."